Russell Brand and Graham Norton (Steve Granitz/WireImage; Jon Furniss/WireImage)

British comic Russell Brand, also known as the ex-Mr. Katy Perry, got peeved at Irish comic Graham Norton last week for having the nerve to ask a question about his busted union with Perry.

Norton, born in Dublin and raised in Cork, hosts the top rated chat show The Graham Norton Show on the BBC, which also airs on BBC America here. Everyone who is anyone and happens to be in London stops by Norton’s studio to plug whatever it is they have going on, and Brand was on tap to chat about his new flick Rock of Ages.

When Norton, 49, spoke about Brand’s failed marriage to Perry, Brand exploded.

"My mum is here. She got upset when you dragged up my marriage.  I saw her cry. That's the reality because it's real people Graham, that's my real mum. I have come here to promote a film and you made my mum cry. I don't see you as that sort of person Graham,” Brand fumed.

Norton replied that Perry had been a guest on his show the week previous, and that it would have been “weird” if he hadn’t broached the subject.

Brand continued to disagree. "What I would have done, mate, in your position is come up to me before the show and gone, 'Eh listen, it's a bit odd that your ex-missus was on last week. I might mention it, is that okay?' "But in all of the chatting and the research backstage, no-one mentioned it."

Brand has never seemed the shy and reticent type, especially when he’s onstage, so his outburst seems strange. But he says he’s forgiven Norton.

"Someone was rude to me. I was angry. I can forgive the human being but not the action," he asked the Dalai Lama at an event in Manchester on Saturday.

The exchange between the two never made it to TV. "We just keep the best bits in the show and that wasn't one of the best bits," a Norton publicist said.

It sounds like it could have made for great TV. Then again, Norton doesn’t really need the extra publicity. His ratings are through the roof and he’s hosted every star imaginable.

Norton, who’s often spoken about how difficult it was to grow up gay and Protestant in Cork, had a show on Comedy Central in 2004 called The Graham Norton Effect which only aired for a few months.